The Maltese Government has obtained EU funding for a technical assessment of a gas pipeline route between Malta and Sicily, the government said today.

An application for funds was submitted at the end of April  year under the first Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) call for energy proposals of 2015.

The main objective is to determine the optimal 1.2km wide route corridor and terminal points in Gela and at Delimara including a conceptual design of the infrastructure and the preparation of the necessary documentation so that the permit granting procedures both in Malta and Italy can commence.

"This funding will contribute to end Malta's gas isolation and will allow interconnection of Malta to the European gas network which shall have positive results on Malta in terms of security of supply, market integration and sustainability," the government said.

The EU said the funding is of €400,000.

Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi thanked all concerned for their work in securing the funding.

Dr Mizzi briefly touched on the application when he spoke in Parliament yesterday, explaining how it would mean that a gas tanker would eventually no longer need to be moored in Marsaxlokk bay to store and supply gas to the power station.